I have to say, I just found you as a suggestion from TH-cam, and your video was so entertaining and i loved listening to your sequel. Your voice is so sweet and calming! :D
Absolutely love Brooklinen and have the petal linen sheets myself. Just wait until they've been washed like 10+ times. You will completely understand why they kept the sheets so long. They get so, so soft. 🥰
As a stay at home mom running my household I too don’t usually get breakfast on the table for everyone until 10 am. Now I see that I am not falling behind. I am just a regency woman 😆👍🏻
Oh you missed the good part in the end, where Mr. Darcy knocks on Elizabeth’s door to request to stay for the night,only to find her fast asleep. He finds her so peaceful and beautiful that he gently snuggles up next to her, without permission 😮, and is soon asleep himself , in the arms of his Love. ❤️
@@tvisha7572 well the wealthy usually has seperate bedrooms. They didn’t want the awkwardness of a servant walking in on them together the next morning. Which seems so silly to us but the Victorians were a prudish bunch. But it was customary for the husband to ask his wife permission to stay with her for the night. Usually , even if their bedrooms were seperate, they would have a private sitting room in between them to meet for a private meal together.
2:00 The entire point of this channel is to create the well-researched ‘Pride and Prejudice’ sequel that us Jane Austen Stans deserve and we love to do it!
I agree, but their alternative sequel was so depressing. I would want to see the sequel to Kierra Knightly Pride and Prejudice and maybe have a love 💕 match storyline with one of her younger sisters getting married. Or her best friend being redeemed and coming to visit Elizabeth at Pemberly and meeting a rich nobleman in business with Mr. Darcy.
I'm intrigued by the idea of Lizzie's first days as mistress. Being bright and curious, I am sure she was aware of the operations of her childhood home, but since this is on a much grander scale, I am guessing Mrs. Reynolds had to tutor her extensively in the first few months of her marriage.
One of the things I like about Austen is the little details she *doesn't* put in. Mrs Bennett doesn't do this stuff: we never hear about her visiting the poor, or doing the family sewing, or practicing accomplishments (unlike a number of other Austen women), and she's sniffy about Charlotte Lucas having to go home and help with food prep and being a good manager - although she does spend a lot of the family money on dinners and treats for Lydia! One of Darcy's very real objections to Lizzie must have been that she hadn't been raised to run a household as a place the size of Pemberley would have needed to be run. (But she's so clever, I'm sure she would have worked it all out.)
The Bennet's estate was nothing like the size of Darcy's, they were lower class rich folk and they didn't really have tenants to look after or offer charity to. Beyond paying attention to the needs of the servants, Mrs. Bennet wouldn't have had many people to take care of.
I'm sure the housekeeper helped her learn what she needed to know. Also, there were books aplenty on how to be a good mistress of (insert what kind of home you had, and what class you were here).
Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Lizzie and Jane had done a lot more 'housekeeping' at Longbourne than their mother was aware of, just because Mrs Bennet wasn't doing so much? She did seem to plan the menus with Hill, at least: 'there is not a bit of fish to be got.'
That's very true; another thing that Mrs. Bennet is never explicitly said to do, which would be expected of women of her class is to get involved with "parish activities". Often, in newspapers of the time, you read about gentlewomen organising bazaars or "sales of goods" where, basically, women made little embroidered things/paintings/drawings/other "craft" items, then held a "sale of work", as they were called, where their friends and other gentry would buy these little trinkets - not because they needed them, but as a way for the women to do something "useful" with their handicrafts, and then to "do their bit" for the poor by spending their pin money on these little things. (Organising events like that probably gave a lot of those women a purpose, too.) One instance from Mansfield Park comes to mind, where Mrs. Norris is picking on Fanny Price for sitting down and doing nothing; she says, "If you have no work of your own, I can supply you from the poor basket. There is all the new calico, that was bought last week, not touched yet." (In other words, Mrs. Norris thinks Fanny should be doing something "useful".) Through doing family history, I've seen various items from parish overseers' accounts where they say that "Widow Smith is given a nightgown, a shift and two pairs of stockings" etc, so the calico Mrs. Norris mentions might have been for sheets, nightdresses, baby clothes etc, or whatever else was handed out to the poor in the local area? (I can't even remember one hint that the Bennet sisters are encouraged to do anything similar at Longbourn.) Once Lizzy became Mrs. Darcy (as you say) she would effectively become the manager of the servants; she'd need to know how to run a household well enough to pull up any servants who were slacking, how to host a ball, organise menus/seating plans at dinner, host people from just about any social class. She'd also need to do the "patroness of the neighbourhood" things - attending charity events, maybe visiting the local school, organising events to "do good in the community", doing some of that sewing from the "poor basket" in her spare time - and she'd be going to church every Sunday knowing that everyone in the "Pemberley parish" would be watching her to see how she behaved/dressed/spoke to others. From that angle, Darcy being brutally honest about his "struggles" before deciding to propose for the first time start to make sense - even if his words are a bit too blunt; he knows his community will expect a lot from his future wife.
If you look at the life of a gentle woman who is unmarried and compare it to a gentle woman who is married you can see how the unmarried were so discontented. Elizabeth after marriage was occupied and busy. Her days had purpose. Before marriage she was bored as most women in that position were. They had to wait for things to happen where as married women of the upper class made things happen.
The unmarried weren’t this busy but they did do things. The visiting and partying would be the same, you could go help the poor the same (with your mother usually), unmarried women were expected to study (like people that age group do today but it would be more about languages and music and painting). People also did go to the walks or riding or playing tennis. The social calls in neighborhoods were same. You were expected to have been red well enough to keep conversation in literature and some current events (but not deep into politics like men) and read Bible and go to sermons. You could have pets, play or educate siblings or other relatives (Persuation has a lot of this). Your could travel if rick or do embroidery and painting if poorer. You could go to threatre or shopping or try help the community. The house had its things to be done even if you weren’t the mistress (which you could be if your mother had died so your would do same things as married woman for a lot of it). I think main difference between married and unmarried is that you had less certainty security, social standing and structure. Money would help and if your father and brothers were supportive but you still would depend lot more on them and could not go places as much alone. And of course you would lack a husband and children.
@@sarasamaletdin4574 Yeah and in England in particular, the unmarried ladies and their mums were preoccupied with the ‘season’ and would spend a lot of time preparing themselves for about six months of networking. They needed to try to be the best and the brightest during this time, so I’d say the unmarried were also quite busy, just in a different way.
Weirdly, it's not all that different than being a farm wife. I'm 3 hours into the day before breakfast, there's still the business of the financial situation and food situation to consider and organize on a weekly basis, checking all the livestock for health or potential predator attacks, fixing fences, etc. And that's all before you have 20 minutes to sit down and eat anything, which you do quickly because there's only so many hours of daylight. Granted, the responsibilities are very different, but I completely relate to being run off your feet by 10pm.
It is because it is not an accurate depiction of how landed gentry lived. Mr. Darcy did not live in a manor! And what is described as Elizabeth’s duties actually belonged to the housekeeper.
If you haven't you should watch the mini series called Death Comes to Pemberley. It shows Lizzy doing all the things you said she would do as Mistress of Pemberley including her caring for and treating servants as part of the family. It's based off what is essentially a published fanfiction of the same name.
I just watched the mini series myself this weekend, and the novel its based on does into even more detail, on a day when lizzie is preparing for a massive ball that is held every year.
Many households passed down the Bed linen, once it was patched/repaired beyond what the Master and Mistress would sleep in, it was passed down to the servants hall.
Ohh this is so interesting! I would be curious as well what Mr. Darcy would be up to during the day, how often they would interact with each other and also how involved he is in her business and the raising of their children 🤔 Thank you for this fascinating insight!
We know that Darcy is wealthy, extremely wealthy, and while he’s related to members of the peerage, he holds no title himself. He was unable to inherit any title such as earl or duke, etc, because his father had no claim to the peerage either. He was a landowner, however, so most of his day to day would’ve been dealing with the work involved in the tenants renting property/farmland from him. As for raising the children, that task would’ve been left to a nanny or governess, out of both his and Elizabeth’s hands. They would’ve seen each other upon waking, at evening meals, and when settling for bed, but that’s about it
@@maddiowens3549 Basically the same as a modern couple in fact, where the husband or both spouses goes out to work all day and they only see each other in the evening and weekends.
And you say that Elizabeth gets up and is dressed but presumably Darcy would have been in bed with her. Do they get up at the same time and then go into different rooms to be dressed by their respective servants?
Fitzwilliam Darcy was named after his mother's last name. I imagine him as the type that will want to perputuate tradition. So name his elder son Bennet, that Lizzy would then turn into "Ben" in everyday life
I think it's explained in another video that Mr. Darcy isn't named after his mother's maiden name, but rather his godfather's last name. Of course, his godfather is his uncle and has a title, so naming him like that was to gain his godfather's favor.
It was common for women from aristocratic backgrounds to give their sons their maiden name to 'carry it on' in the only capacity they could, the name Bennet would definitely not warrant this treatment
Well then maybe Fitzwilliam junior isn't named after his father but also his godfather, who would be a member of the Fitzwilliam family, maybe Colonel Fitzwilliam or the current Earl.
One tiny quibble, there was no such thing as a "weekend" at this time. For a family that had no involvement in office hours, business hours, etc., this was especially true. As it was, most tradespeople were open on Saturday and even Sunday (the mail ran on Sunday, as on all other days of the week). The gentry, especially, had no limitations of a business week on their ability to travel, visit, recreate, host, etc. For all intents and purposes, the weekend wasn't something they observed at all. The only scheduled obligations the gentry had were events they set up for themselves; the Parliamentary calendar or court calendars in various court towns if they had a matter under consideration by those bodies; church services (not everyone went every week. but some would attend multiple times per week, for example evensong or weekday services in addition to Sunday service); and social events tied to a calendar (such as the "season" in London from late autumn until Lent which occurred in late winter). They might also be observant of feast days or saints' days on the liturgical calendar, and maybe school breaks when their boarding-school-aged children would return home for Christmas or Michaelmas, etc. But unlike us poor modern folks they definitely didn't bother to wait til Friday to host or attend social events!
I have read several novels in which older members of the family refuse to use the term "week end." When they invite people to stay they mention the exact dates.
People tend to forget that proper estate management is real work. Granted, it is work one can delegate or, technically, neglect - which is something you can't do with a 'waged job', so no real comparisons there - but it is work nevertheless.
The linens reminded me of my grandmother, whose parents ran a linen farm, one of her skills was "pulling thread" which made designs in the fabric. She didn't stay to further her training, however, because her family wanted to marry her to a rich old man, so her aunt and uncle carried her off to America, where she married a poor laborer, instead, an became a caterer...and, of course, my Busia ❤
You forgot the part where the master of the house comes through the adjoining door at 12:00 AM and says, "Mrs. Darcy, your linens or mine tonight?" (Leaving it up to your imagination as to whether she takes him up on it or asks for a raincheck.)
Very interesting stuff😊. Like anyone who is a fan of Austen, we try to put ourselves into the era but we really don't have enough information to realize how long Elizabeth's days were without videos like this. (sigh of sympathetic exhaustion). What a day! I hope Mr. Darcy appreciates all her dedicated attention to detail. Keep up the good work😀.
I couldn't have done half that much. Then again, I am disabled. But really, even when I was able bodied, I'd have been worn right out by dinner time. I would have eaten the food, and then MELTED. "Oh, you want to hang out over your port? That's fine. I'm just going to go pass out now. See you tomorrow."
Yes, I’m the mistress of Pemberley East in my neck of the woods. Definitely grooving on the notion of a greenhouse (aka glass house, as I think they were called back then in England).
Loved the video!!! Can we please have the version about Mr. Darcy's day? Pretty please? 🥺 Thanks for all the work you do for the channel, I love all the details we learn with you.
I can't believe it! I was literally thinking about it all week after rewatching Pride and Prejudice and now you post this video!! Thank you so much for reading my mind :D
I love this insight into their daily lives! What about a wife of a Clergyman like Eleonor Dashwood or Charlotte 😅 And more of a middle ground, like Marianne Dashwood who married Coronel Brandon? Uh! A day in the life of the Bennet Sister's mother has to be a wild ride
I can see Elizabeth writing a letter that takes three days to arrive: "Dear Miss Dashwood, I wish to express my enjoyment of your moving artwork and speech and profess I am very fond of it. Your dearest friend, Mrs E Darcy"
@@EllieDashwood However, in order to truly appreciate sleeping on the best "linens", they really do need to be ironed, especially the pillow cases. Also, a steam iron will not do the job properly and you will need to sprinkle first, wrap the item up tightly and store them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight (crisper drawers are ideal for this if they're not already full of veg) and then ironed with a dry iron on a high setting. You will not believe the difference in the feel. It's almost like a different fabric again.
Great video, I love these books or videos about day to day life. I think linen could be made from other plants but flax was best. I love that the Darcys were good to their servants - believe it or not my Grannie was a Lady's Maid (she must have been one of the last) and I think she liked her employers too, they seem to have been quite kind to her. They travelled a lot, and of course she went with her 'mistress' so she visited lots of amazing places and sailed on the Queen Mary.
For the noonday meal - Sense & Sensibility refers to a nuncheon (in the notes, defined as the amount of food you could put on the palm of your hand), and in Mansfield Park they talk about "the sandwich tray".
@@JB-vd8bi There is a lovely series by the late Clarissa Dickson Wright. I have found it on TH-cam, and it goes through the history of when "Lunch" became a thing, and all the mystery about it. She also explains how meals were moving about, why they moved as they did, and how lunch became a *Thing*. There are etiquette books as well that examine the difference between "Lunch" (midday meal) VS "Luncheon" (Social event) that explain why meals have all these different names.
It would be interesting if you did another one about what an unmarried woman would be doing all day. Her schedule probably wouldn't be too different but I'd like to know what she'd be doing while her married counterpart is running her estate and raising her children.
Well we do get a look into Lizzie's life as an unmarried woman during the book! She reads, does needlework, practises piano and walks to Merryton a lot. Since she is not mistress of a house (Mrs Bennet is the mistress of Longbourn), I'd imagine she has more free time.
Often, she would making long visits to relatives and/or family friends and helping with their children (a la the Miss Steeles, who pay for their board by entertaining the kids in the house), or providing companionship to the lady of the house (a la Fanny Price). And helping make clothes for her brothers (a la Fanny Price and Catherine Morland).
Unmarried women did a lot but the books aren’t focused on daily chores (like modern rom coms aren’t) so it’s easy to think they didn’t do much. But unmarried life was less certain and you didn’t have the social standing so there are differences.
Loved this detailed account of a day in a Regency Gentlewoman. My issue of Pride & Prejudice has some of this information explained in the appendices, but it's great to hear it presented by you :) My book also explained that the more fashionable and wealthy the family the later they ate dinner: the Bennets at 16h and the Bingleys at 18:30h, so maybe the Darcys would eat a bit later as well?
I think they would dine later in London, keeping up with the busier social life, but in the countryside, where they would have to get up relatively early to run the state and household, they would dine early. The Bingleys didn't have much to do with their days, so they could keep to London hours.
I read somewhere that the hour of ‘dinner’ wasn’t set at this time, and in fashionable households was gradually getting later, so transitioning from afternoon to evening.
So many dresses! House dresses, day dresses, dinner dresses and ball gowns. What would an upper class wardrobe look like? How many of each? What were the relative traits of each sort of dress that made them suitable for one situation but not another?
I don't have a terrifically in-depth analysis--mid- to late Victorian is more my area of study!--but I can help a little! It's important to note that some of the fabrics they used back then are different now or have ceased to exist altogether. House dresses were much more comfortable and easy (think soft, clingy muslin!). With day dresses, muslin, printed cotton, and wool are likely, depending on the season and the financial position of the wearer (some women could afford to wear silk during the day!). They would have that particular deep neckline we associate with Regency gowns, but would most often have a fichu or kerchief tucked into the bodice for modesty, or would be worn with a spencer (short jacket). The fabrics themselves often had patterns woven in and weren't just plain cloth. For dinners and evenings, the low neckline was considered appropriate, and gowns would have been made from things like silk, satin, and velvet, I believe. Accessorizing was also a HUGE part of how you would dress appropriately--your bonnets, your hair ornaments, your jewelry, your gloves, etc etc.
@@akapam57 Oh, man, but no though! They weren't disgusting. They were pretty fastidious. They may not have taken complete baths or showers like we do, but you'd wash up in the morning every day! I think most people think that just means "their face," but nah. It was all your bits and bobs.
I'm certain that I don't want to wake up feeling like the mistress of Pemberley...but...the guy-thing equivalent...THAT could be good. I will share this with my wife...once I meet and woo and marry her. Perhaps if I buy the sheets it will work in my favor? I can mention it on my dating profile (if I had one): KNOWS the importance of quality sheets. AND I know a person with a promo code. I have connections.
@@Hiraeth_Nightshade Sorry it took so long to reply! Getting some little odds and ends done. (It's Saturday; ) Hiraeth...Welsh? Is it not? Ummm...Nostalgic...right? And nightshades grow everywhere, if I am not mistaken. Oh! And are beneficial health-wise! So! Cool username! Thus, I will gladly take advice from someone who is clever enough to come up with that nom de plume. Off to understand muslin! And...thank-you! (If this works, I will credit you! = )
Greetings, Classics Lover. I am a single woman of gentle birth and breeding, with a good education, and many accomplishments. Oddly enough, I also know a person with a promo code for excellent linens. Perhaps we should meet, in a proper setting, of course, and compare notes on our mutual connections.
@@Hiraeth_Nightshade Ah, yes! If you're going to woo Mrs. Allen, you simply MUST know muslin. She'll know then that she can trust you! A man who knows his muslin is always trustworthy. Of course, in order to woo Mrs. Allen, you'll have to wait for Mr. Allen to pop off, but you could always use your influence with her to help you woo a younger, and more importantly, single, young lady, instead.
@@AuntLoopy123 Greetings, Michelle! I am a single man of some accomplishment with a good education...but, much like Pooh Bear, "My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling, but it Wobbles, and letters get in the wrong places. " Although...that could also be attributed to my typing skills. I mention all of this because yes, I would be very pleased to meet with you in a proper setting, as I find you intriguing. And I am very fond of note comparisons. I simply forewarn you of the "Wobbles" as a kind courtesy. Do you have a preferred proper stetting in mind? I have an email attached to this username, of course, but I can also perhaps...dust off Twitter? I can supply contact information for either. Or you may have another preference. Direct me as you will, as I am at your service!
Thank you Ellie! So, being the mistress of Pemberley isn't an easy task after all. Waking up very early and having all these duties to fulfil within the day. It seems Elizabeth wouldn't be spending so much time with Mr. Darcy. No romantic walks with him in the Pemberley grounds? No spending every night together? That's not how I imagined their married life. 😅😋 Anyway, thanks for a great video. It was one of the best you've done!
Ellie was spot on by limiting Darcy's and Elizabeth's children. I've always thought that Darcy was aware of the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth in the Regency period, and how hard it would be on the health of his wife if she went through multiple pregnancies. Darcy would be solicitous of Elizabeth's health and limit the number of children they had, just as his father did with his mother. Of course, birth control for the upper classes would mean separate bedrooms. It's not how we see a healthy marriage in the 21st century, but it would be so back then.
@@missanne2908 All upper-class people had separate bedrooms for husband and wife. It was very unusual for upper-class couples to share the same bedroom. For one thing, the gentleman had his valet or gentleman's man to dress him, as the lady had her lady's maid. That made it inconvenient (pretty much impossible) to share a dressing area near or in the same bedroom.
@@missanne2908 more healthy than sharing a bedroom all the time. Where’s the allure of that? Both husbands and wives need a bit of time to themselves, and then spending the night together is a positive choice, not a nightly duty.
@@Happyheretic2308 I once saw a study years ago that found when women share their bed they get a poorer quality of sleep, so it is indeed literally healthier.
I like how in the Bridgerton novels (and the show), they eat together as a family. In the books, it is pointed out how VERY ODD it is that they do so. SO unusual. I have my issues with the Bridgerton books, but I did rather like that part very much. It shows, in just one simple way, that the Bridgerton family were unusual, in a good way, and why they have such strong familial bonds: Because the parents ENFORCED familial bonds in a way most other families of the time simply did not. Of course, it's possible that they doubled their "Children's Hour" with one of their meals. Still, it was an unusual thing for people of their class, and with all the other inaccuracies in the books (and even more in the show - Queen Charlotte *sidling* into a ballroom, with her entourage, but not bringing everything to a halt, and people continue about their business as the walks in? At a BALL?! Excuse me, what?! It may have been her dream to do so, but it would never have been allowed. Also, when the reigning royal arrived, it didn't matter what time it was, nobody was allowed to enter after them. Which meant that, to be considerate of the other guests, the royals arrived late), I DO like how they made the "inaccuracy" of eating together as a family into an actual recognition of the eccentricity of the family in general, and the parents, in particular.
I mean I am from a modern family (clearly) and we didn’t eat together for more than couple of times a week. Different schedules and ideas when it’s good to eat and me and dad wanting to read while eating. Doesn’t mean we aren’t close. Now we did eat together when me and my brother we very small of course because youngest would need help. Kids in this scenario are 7-9 however.
I absolutely love Brooklinen sheets. (Though, have to wash them a number of times to reach perfection.) Their cotton sheets are so soft and I love that unlike pretty much every luxury sheet maker, they have colors besides white, tan, gray, and pale blue. 🥰
I believe, "Consumption" was later identified as Tuberculosis (TB) since the infected person wastes away or is consumed by the illness. Since TB is spread through the air or direct contact from an infected individual Elizabeth and Ann would be at great risk of contracting the TB bacteria and becoming infected. The more proximity contacts you have, visits, with an infected person the more likely it is that you will contract the disease, though one contact could prove fatal.
Excellent video on the whole! One tiny caveat: for breakfast there might have been jam, but not 'jelly', which at the time would have been an gelatin-based aspic served at the evening meal OR something provided for an invalid.
My Dear Miss Dashwoowd, Your historical perspective videos are excellent! I would very much appreciate a video focusing on practical economics of the time. For example, how much would Miss Elizabeth Bennett's father pay Hill verses how much his wife would budget for a family dinner? When Mr. Beeeengley purchases his estate, what kind of bang would he get for his pound sterling? Best wishes and keep up your great work.
Which just reminded me of that letter Jane Austen wrote to her niece, saying such things as, "No, that person would not be introduced to this other person. It's the other way around." and other such stuff. Little details that the younger person did not quite know, because she was writing about people in the same class, but in a higher circle, and thus did not know the details of that circle, which Jane Austen did.
Excellent! Only one thing that I would switch up ~ in my humble opinion (and my dramatic imaginings of a P & P Part Two) the Darcy's firstborn son would bear the first name 'Bennet'. Everything else is spot on, loved it!
well being a soldier, Wickham was killed in combat. Darcy and Bingley tracked Lydia down brought her to Pemberley and locked her up in a dungeon under the castle so she could not cause further trouble. So one of Lizzie's duties would be to go feed Lydia some bread and leftover wine every now and then.
Didn`t he leave the Militia (which was a reserve force, not the regular army)? But maybe not, perhaps some of the money he got after the elopement was used to buy a commission in the regulars which is "the position" Darcy acquires for him, it would be a good way to never have to see him again. I kind of have visions of Wickham and Lydia colliding with George Osborne, Becky Sharp, and some of the other Vanity Fair characters at the Dutchess of Ritchmond`s Ball just before Waterloo and maybe getting into a situation with Colonel Richard Sharpe outside! I can totally see Osborne and Wickham getting involved in a drunken card game and Wickham making advances towards Becky!
the times are soooo cunfusing for me! where is the 5PM teatime? so different from what we are used to see in movies! thanks for this, Ellie, the little things in the life of people 200 years ago are a mistery. I would very much like to learn more on what they eat in the upper class, for example, what was a normal family menu and what changed if they had guests...
Ok, I’ve been watching and watching Brooklinen ads from various TH-camrs knowing that I do indeed need new sheets but whose code should I use?? And you come along to teach me something I did not know about historical linens and I must declare you the winner of my Brooklinen purchase code. Thanks for the video and I’m excited to try my new sheets soon!
You've inspired me to plan to write a fictional adaptation of life in the colonial ruling class of the Netherlands Indies, based on my dissertation work, and family archives..it's so interesting to see how the practices of European aristocracies were amalgamated with local customs, creating a tension-prone, and in many ways highly dramatic, mode of life among the 'native' and Chinese aristocracies...I do historical sociology, mostly focusing on the macro/systems level of analysis, but as I read more into the novels, memoirs etc. of the late colonial period, I realize there is perhaps, an untapped world of personal drama, behind the impersonal forces of development, I've studied thus far. If my research is basically a critique of eurocentrism, then my fiction can perhaps help to bring attention to the forgotten world of the Indies, by displaying the 'human interest' aspects of the very processes I've already theorized in my academic work..and perhaps I might paint my father's world, a world in which the aristocratic way of life was becoming generalized for the first time, in a different, more social and less narrowly monetary, light than it's thus far been seen. The Chinese aristocracy, was an aristocracy; bureaucratized and mercantile, but blue blooded nonetheless, and today, all this is barely remembered, by sino-indonesians who see themselves as businesspeople, without a tradition of noble virtues, and who are famed amongst the people, only for their business accumen...the 'crazy rich asians' image is super problematic and has to be challenged, because it is the basis of fascistic pogroms against supposedly money-grubbing Chinese minorities in southeast asia
Elizabeth would probably have been served tea in bed. Then a bath which had been drawn and heated at the last min. with a hot bucket of water. Dressed by he maid and down to breakfast in the morning room. She may have looked in on her children for a few min. but this would be rare as she wouldn't want to interrupt there studies. She would ask if the house was ready for guest but would not inspect anything. That's the butler and housekeeper job. She would not inquire about the ingredients for the meals. If something was not right she would expect the staff to inform her and she would take make decisions. At this point after the morning meal she would probably go for a short walk. On return she would retire to her study and do the correspondents. Meet with the housekeeper to set the menu's for the week. There would be letters to family and friends, check the household accounts and answer any letters required. Order any household supplies, wine, spices. On occasion travel to the local town to shop. She would have lunch with her sister-in-law, sometimes with Darcey, but rarely. After lunch they would practice their instruments, learn new songs. At around 3:30 the children would have finished their studies. In good weather they would probably all go outside, in bad they would be in the family room with books, board games and music. Afternoon tea would be served. At 5:30 the children would leave for their dinner and Elizabeth and here sister-in-law would retire to there rooms to wash and dress for dinner. Dinner was at 7:30 - 8:00. At 9:00 after dinner they would retire to the sitting room and wait for the men to attend them. At 11:00 it was upstairs to bed. Some large estates had both an estate agent to manage the farms and a house agent to do everything a large house required so neither the man or woman needed to do anything except theater and dinner parties.
Just here to say that I've been obsessed with Jane Austen since 2005 and FELL INLOVE with your content! There is also something about you! Your features are very aligned with 19th-century women to my belief! So beautiful! Would be AWESOME to see you in a gown!!!
Linen is durable, naturally antibacterial and doesn't smell bad as quickly as cotton. It would also have been relatively recent since cotton was actually legal to import from India On the note of the sick servant, regardless of their wealth, Elizabeth is still going to call for the apothecary, not the doctor. They would, at a pinch, probably call for the doctor for the housekeeper or butler, but they really wouldn't rate him for a footman. Also the doctor would be offended by this. With Elizabeth's father, she would have been a dab hand at accounting. She's also the most intelligent woman in her family, which is one of the reasons Darcy is attracted to her. There's absolutely no way she would not have been fully able to balance her own books. If nothing else, with her social status she would have been brought up to run her own establishment, no matter how humble
You have narrated this so well! I could literally see what you were describing in my mind. I loved it. Thank you for another wonderful video! Also, it’s my sisters birthday soon so I will purchase her a pack of brooklinen! She will love it as she is also into the regency era. Thankyou Ellie! Xxx
When the lady's maid came to awaken Elizabeth, she would have brought a tea tray with her. Elizabeth would have had either a light repast on the tea tray, or she would have had breakfast before taking on the day. She also would have spent time in the "morning room" dealing with her correspondence before leaving the house.
oh my goodness, I never realized how similar a mistress of an estate is to being a sahm for kids of the same age as hers and older haha. I just don't have maids or change my clothes several times a day but it's just as busy for sure, various things to check and keep track of. I would have thought she'd be more relaxed but it makes sense she's so busy, even without guests arriving. I don't feel so bad now haha.
I really learnt a lot from this video and I appreciate it a lot. I actually watched it yesterday while my hands were busy/dirty. But kept it in my mind in order to come back and give it a like. That's how much I appreciate it. Please make more of these 😀
Great video as always Ellie! I think being the mistress of Pemberley or really any other mansion requires social skills I would never possess to such an extent...the mere thought of dealing with guests pretty much every day is really exausting🤣😱
It's even worse when you realize that having guests was considered your duty when you owned an estate like that! If you were rich enough to own such a grand house, it was also your responsibility to fill it up. And guests often stayed for as long as they liked, regardless of whether they were "good" guests or not--you couldn't just ask someone to leave! (A great example of this is an essay I read about Samuel Taylor Coleridge, where I learned that his friendship with William Wordsworth became contentious because Coleridge was such a rotten houseguest).
Of course my idea of A Day in the Life of Elizabeth Darcy differs from yours. We all have our own. I am inclined to have her spend less time with Mrs. Reynolds. As Emma says, “But every thing of that kind will soon be in so regular a train-” I would have her spend more time with her children. You left out the traditional exhibition of the children to the visitors when dessert is being served. I've read of it so often in novels written only a few years later that it is likely it was done earlier in the century.
I truly hope you get opportunity to read this. What an amazing lady you are. Your enthusiasm and dedication to your passion is wonderful to share with you. Thank you for your hard work it is much appreciated. 💝
Thank you for doing these videos! I absolutely love learning the history!! I find it so fascinating and it makes regency novels more fun when I understand the culture and etiquette. So thank you! Video Suggestion: I would love to see more videos on the servants. I have been recently interested in learning more about footmen and what their lives were like. What they did daily, when they accompanied the ladies for shopping, etc. I have heard their looks and height were really important, haha. I would also love to learn more about the valet, butler, and ladies maid. But really any and all servants - inside the house and on the grounds. What were their daily lives like? Did they ever get time off? Get to visit family? How old were they when they started working? How did those maid training schools work? Are there footmen schools? How did promotions work? Did younger workers get opportunities to learn to read and write so they could become housekeepers, valets, etc? Was moving households common? Any knowledge you have to offer would be wonderful! Thank you!
I think that Mrs. Darcy would seek additional servants from the surrounding community. The estate has old connections with local families that have supplied it with both permanent and temporary help for generations. She might seek a special tutor from London, but not a footman.
It may be possible they've hired all available footmen in the region. Some men would have been expected to "take on the family farm" and the like, which may have limited the pool to begin with. Since household workers may have stuck around for quite a while, it may have been steady, but they would have been expected to be at the house. If they wanted to marry and do something else, unless they married within their workplace (which could be quite dicey depending on where you worked, whom for, and the general issues with marrying coworkers) they may not have had a chance at a family during their tenure. Seeking someone from London may have been a way to bring in someone without stressing the local population, and if the workload was a temporary situation they may find much easier someone from a city who would work on a temporary basis who would have had training and experience. If they would have come in permanently, it again may have been someone who was already willing to accept the conditions that such employment would entail.
I loved your commentary in linen. I never knew about any of that. Your love of luxurious sheets means you’re a grown up now. Lol when you take your own pillow case on vacation with you and know all the names of your plants In the yard, you’re officially a grown up. Lol
The thing that surprises me about the example schedule is Elizabeth waking up so early. I know ladies were up late most nights and I was under the impression they slept in most mornings.
I’ve often read that this was usually done when they were “in town” and I’ve seen this referred to as “keeping town hours”. I believe it was the custom in the countryside to rise early because of all the things they had to do and people in town just didn’t have people or land to go and visit. If anyone has any more info, I’d love to hear it!
I have seen some transitiions, since that became a thing, and only the truest TH-cam artist and scholar could work in a lesson on 19th-century household practices so smoothly into an ad for the sponsor!
Get $20 off your Brooklinen order over $100! Just click here bit.ly/EllieDashwood and enter my promo code ELLIE. 💕
Is that individual plastic wrapping of packages I noticed?
Can you do a video on what Jane’s life would be like? Or Lydia’s to Wickham’s? What would the wife of a solider be like?
Lindo the Brooklinen sheets meet ironing? Linen is notorious for that.
I have to say, I just found you as a suggestion from TH-cam, and your video was so entertaining and i loved listening to your sequel. Your voice is so sweet and calming! :D
Absolutely love Brooklinen and have the petal linen sheets myself. Just wait until they've been washed like 10+ times. You will completely understand why they kept the sheets so long. They get so, so soft. 🥰
Laughed out loud when you said “In her old age” since 10 years after the marriage, Elizabeth would have only been 30. 😂
I was laughing thinking of the same thing! 😁
"I am not one and thirty."
I was thinking that myself!
As a 35-yeared-old who needs some serious deep breaths after rushing up a flight of stairs, i think 'old age's might start way sooner than we expect 😂
@@misscarolinasousa As a 31 year old whose hips, knees, and back already hate her, I AGREE lol
As a stay at home mom running my household I too don’t usually get breakfast on the table for everyone until 10 am. Now I see that I am not falling behind. I am just a regency woman 😆👍🏻
Wouldn't everybody already be at school and work work by that point?
I love how Americans say and write mum as mom. Dunno why. It just makes me so happy. ☺️
Notif the kids are homeschooled or are too young to be at school
Oh you missed the good part in the end, where Mr. Darcy knocks on Elizabeth’s door to request to stay for the night,only to find her fast asleep. He finds her so peaceful and beautiful that he gently snuggles up next to her, without permission 😮, and is soon asleep himself , in the arms of his Love. ❤️
Second this!
Love the little moment you created
What's with this permission thing though? Didn't husband and wife sleep together in the olden days?
@@tvisha7572 well the wealthy usually has seperate bedrooms. They didn’t want the awkwardness of a servant walking in on them together the next morning. Which seems so silly to us but the Victorians were a prudish bunch. But it was customary for the husband to ask his wife permission to stay with her for the night. Usually , even if their bedrooms were seperate, they would have a private sitting room in between them to meet for a private meal together.
I think Ole Darcy has the big time hots for Lizzie. They’re going to be honeymooning for a good while.
2:00 The entire point of this channel is to create the well-researched ‘Pride and Prejudice’ sequel that us Jane Austen Stans deserve and we love to do it!
😂😂😂 That’s what I’m here for. 😂
I would totally read any p&p sequel you would like to write!
@@ginnieliebherr4245 I would reed this sequel only if the linnel sheets of each household is describe.
Death at Pemberley is kind of a sequel. Not an official one obviously lol but does show Elizabeth and Darcy after marriage.
I agree, but their alternative sequel was so depressing.
I would want to see the sequel to Kierra Knightly Pride and Prejudice and maybe have a love 💕 match storyline with one of her younger sisters getting married. Or her best friend being redeemed and coming to visit Elizabeth at Pemberly and meeting a rich nobleman in business with Mr. Darcy.
I'm intrigued by the idea of Lizzie's first days as mistress. Being bright and curious, I am sure she was aware of the operations of her childhood home, but since this is on a much grander scale, I am guessing Mrs. Reynolds had to tutor her extensively in the first few months of her marriage.
One of the things I like about Austen is the little details she *doesn't* put in. Mrs Bennett doesn't do this stuff: we never hear about her visiting the poor, or doing the family sewing, or practicing accomplishments (unlike a number of other Austen women), and she's sniffy about Charlotte Lucas having to go home and help with food prep and being a good manager - although she does spend a lot of the family money on dinners and treats for Lydia! One of Darcy's very real objections to Lizzie must have been that she hadn't been raised to run a household as a place the size of Pemberley would have needed to be run. (But she's so clever, I'm sure she would have worked it all out.)
The Bennet's estate was nothing like the size of Darcy's, they were lower class rich folk and they didn't really have tenants to look after or offer charity to. Beyond paying attention to the needs of the servants, Mrs. Bennet wouldn't have had many people to take care of.
I'm sure the housekeeper helped her learn what she needed to know. Also, there were books aplenty on how to be a good mistress of (insert what kind of home you had, and what class you were here).
Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Lizzie and Jane had done a lot more 'housekeeping' at Longbourne than their mother was aware of, just because Mrs Bennet wasn't doing so much? She did seem to plan the menus with Hill, at least: 'there is not a bit of fish to be got.'
@@mrs_mothra547 They were not lower class. They just were poorer even if still rich.
That's very true; another thing that Mrs. Bennet is never explicitly said to do, which would be expected of women of her class is to get involved with "parish activities". Often, in newspapers of the time, you read about gentlewomen organising bazaars or "sales of goods" where, basically, women made little embroidered things/paintings/drawings/other "craft" items, then held a "sale of work", as they were called, where their friends and other gentry would buy these little trinkets - not because they needed them, but as a way for the women to do something "useful" with their handicrafts, and then to "do their bit" for the poor by spending their pin money on these little things. (Organising events like that probably gave a lot of those women a purpose, too.) One instance from Mansfield Park comes to mind, where Mrs. Norris is picking on Fanny Price for sitting down and doing nothing; she says, "If you have no work of your own, I can supply you from the poor basket. There is all the new calico, that was bought last week, not touched yet." (In other words, Mrs. Norris thinks Fanny should be doing something "useful".) Through doing family history, I've seen various items from parish overseers' accounts where they say that "Widow Smith is given a nightgown, a shift and two pairs of stockings" etc, so the calico Mrs. Norris mentions might have been for sheets, nightdresses, baby clothes etc, or whatever else was handed out to the poor in the local area? (I can't even remember one hint that the Bennet sisters are encouraged to do anything similar at Longbourn.) Once Lizzy became Mrs. Darcy (as you say) she would effectively become the manager of the servants; she'd need to know how to run a household well enough to pull up any servants who were slacking, how to host a ball, organise menus/seating plans at dinner, host people from just about any social class. She'd also need to do the "patroness of the neighbourhood" things - attending charity events, maybe visiting the local school, organising events to "do good in the community", doing some of that sewing from the "poor basket" in her spare time - and she'd be going to church every Sunday knowing that everyone in the "Pemberley parish" would be watching her to see how she behaved/dressed/spoke to others. From that angle, Darcy being brutally honest about his "struggles" before deciding to propose for the first time start to make sense - even if his words are a bit too blunt; he knows his community will expect a lot from his future wife.
If you look at the life of a gentle woman who is unmarried and compare it to a gentle woman who is married you can see how the unmarried were so discontented. Elizabeth after marriage was occupied and busy. Her days had purpose. Before marriage she was bored as most women in that position were. They had to wait for things to happen where as married women of the upper class made things happen.
Whereas
My introvert ass would have rather stayed unmarried if that's what marriage brings along.
The unmarried weren’t this busy but they did do things. The visiting and partying would be the same, you could go help the poor the same (with your mother usually), unmarried women were expected to study (like people that age group do today but it would be more about languages and music and painting). People also did go to the walks or riding or playing tennis. The social calls in neighborhoods were same. You were expected to have been red well enough to keep conversation in literature and some current events (but not deep into politics like men) and read Bible and go to sermons. You could have pets, play or educate siblings or other relatives (Persuation has a lot of this). Your could travel if rick or do embroidery and painting if poorer. You could go to threatre or shopping or try help the community. The house had its things to be done even if you weren’t the mistress (which you could be if your mother had died so your would do same things as married woman for a lot of it).
I think main difference between married and unmarried is that you had less certainty security, social standing and structure. Money would help and if your father and brothers were supportive but you still would depend lot more on them and could not go places as much alone. And of course you would lack a husband and children.
@@sarasamaletdin4574 Yeah and in England in particular, the unmarried ladies and their mums were preoccupied with the ‘season’ and would spend a lot of time preparing themselves for about six months of networking. They needed to try to be the best and the brightest during this time, so I’d say the unmarried were also quite busy, just in a different way.
They also brought that out about the Crawley sisters at the beginning of Downton Abbey. Too much time on their hands!
Weirdly, it's not all that different than being a farm wife. I'm 3 hours into the day before breakfast, there's still the business of the financial situation and food situation to consider and organize on a weekly basis, checking all the livestock for health or potential predator attacks, fixing fences, etc. And that's all before you have 20 minutes to sit down and eat anything, which you do quickly because there's only so many hours of daylight. Granted, the responsibilities are very different, but I completely relate to being run off your feet by 10pm.
In so many ways that is what she was. Just that her husband wasn't doing the farming part.
It is because it is not an accurate depiction of how landed gentry lived. Mr. Darcy did not live in a manor! And what is described as Elizabeth’s duties actually belonged to the housekeeper.
If you haven't you should watch the mini series called Death Comes to Pemberley. It shows Lizzy doing all the things you said she would do as Mistress of Pemberley including her caring for and treating servants as part of the family. It's based off what is essentially a published fanfiction of the same name.
I just watched the mini series myself this weekend, and the novel its based on does into even more detail, on a day when lizzie is preparing for a massive ball that is held every year.
@@Bazookatone1wow, where can I watch this miniseries ??
I am watching it on PBS streaming. I've watched the first episode.
@@Bazookatone1 the novel is a lot of fun and is a lot kinder to Mary than Austen was.
Many households passed down the Bed linen, once it was patched/repaired beyond what the Master and Mistress would sleep in, it was passed down to the servants hall.
Ohh this is so interesting! I would be curious as well what Mr. Darcy would be up to during the day, how often they would interact with each other and also how involved he is in her business and the raising of their children 🤔 Thank you for this fascinating insight!
Oo, yes, a day in the life of Mr Darcy!
We know that Darcy is wealthy, extremely wealthy, and while he’s related to members of the peerage, he holds no title himself. He was unable to inherit any title such as earl or duke, etc, because his father had no claim to the peerage either. He was a landowner, however, so most of his day to day would’ve been dealing with the work involved in the tenants renting property/farmland from him. As for raising the children, that task would’ve been left to a nanny or governess, out of both his and Elizabeth’s hands. They would’ve seen each other upon waking, at evening meals, and when settling for bed, but that’s about it
I would love to know how often the have sex tbh 🥴
@@maddiowens3549 Basically the same as a modern couple in fact, where the husband or both spouses goes out to work all day and they only see each other in the evening and weekends.
And you say that Elizabeth gets up and is dressed but presumably Darcy would have been in bed with her. Do they get up at the same time and then go into different rooms to be dressed by their respective servants?
You should totally write a Period Drama. We’d be happy to help. ‘Bridgerton’ will not know what hit them 🔥
Definitely!
I would read/watch it!
I'd watch it. We could call it Darcy
@@s6r231 The Delightful Darcy’s.
Bridgerton is mostly soapy drama, "period" is just the varnish.
Anything remotely researched wouldn't even play in the same category.
I suggest the title The Life of Elizabeth Darcy
Fitzwilliam Darcy was named after his mother's last name. I imagine him as the type that will want to perputuate tradition. So name his elder son Bennet, that Lizzy would then turn into "Ben" in everyday life
I think it's explained in another video that Mr. Darcy isn't named after his mother's maiden name, but rather his godfather's last name. Of course, his godfather is his uncle and has a title, so naming him like that was to gain his godfather's favor.
It was common for women from aristocratic backgrounds to give their sons their maiden name to 'carry it on' in the only capacity they could, the name Bennet would definitely not warrant this treatment
Well then maybe Fitzwilliam junior isn't named after his father but also his godfather, who would be a member of the Fitzwilliam family, maybe Colonel Fitzwilliam or the current Earl.
I had no idea his name was Fitzwilliam
@@AndriaBieberDesigns he signed his letter to Elizabeth with his full name.
One tiny quibble, there was no such thing as a "weekend" at this time. For a family that had no involvement in office hours, business hours, etc., this was especially true. As it was, most tradespeople were open on Saturday and even Sunday (the mail ran on Sunday, as on all other days of the week). The gentry, especially, had no limitations of a business week on their ability to travel, visit, recreate, host, etc. For all intents and purposes, the weekend wasn't something they observed at all.
The only scheduled obligations the gentry had were events they set up for themselves; the Parliamentary calendar or court calendars in various court towns if they had a matter under consideration by those bodies; church services (not everyone went every week. but some would attend multiple times per week, for example evensong or weekday services in addition to Sunday service); and social events tied to a calendar (such as the "season" in London from late autumn until Lent which occurred in late winter).
They might also be observant of feast days or saints' days on the liturgical calendar, and maybe school breaks when their boarding-school-aged children would return home for Christmas or Michaelmas, etc. But unlike us poor modern folks they definitely didn't bother to wait til Friday to host or attend social events!
I have read several novels in which older members of the family refuse to use the term "week end." When they invite people to stay they mention the exact dates.
To quote the Dowager Countess Lady Violet, "What is a "weekend"?" 😆
There's a number of historical issues in this beyond that. Why on Earth would Georgiana be in London in the dead of summer...?
@@kartos. Good point. Dentist?
I believe they would attend church on Sunday
People tend to forget that proper estate management is real work. Granted, it is work one can delegate or, technically, neglect - which is something you can't do with a 'waged job', so no real comparisons there - but it is work nevertheless.
And if you neglect the work, you will soon be out of your estate, so.....
Yes - but it's work I think I would really like . . . 😃
@@agnes15101968 Not necessarily. You just need to make sure you hire a competent steward.
The linens reminded me of my grandmother, whose parents ran a linen farm, one of her skills was "pulling thread" which made designs in the fabric. She didn't stay to further her training, however, because her family wanted to marry her to a rich old man, so her aunt and uncle carried her off to America, where she married a poor laborer, instead, an became a caterer...and, of course, my Busia ❤
You forgot the part where the master of the house comes through the adjoining door at 12:00 AM and says, "Mrs. Darcy, your linens or mine tonight?"
(Leaving it up to your imagination as to whether she takes him up on it or asks for a raincheck.)
Very interesting stuff😊. Like anyone who is a fan of Austen, we try to put ourselves into the era but we really don't have enough information to realize how long Elizabeth's days were without videos like this. (sigh of sympathetic exhaustion). What a day! I hope Mr. Darcy appreciates all her dedicated attention to detail. Keep up the good work😀.
I couldn't have done half that much. Then again, I am disabled. But really, even when I was able bodied, I'd have been worn right out by dinner time. I would have eaten the food, and then MELTED. "Oh, you want to hang out over your port? That's fine. I'm just going to go pass out now. See you tomorrow."
This is basically a manual for me to be able to know how to be a mistress and I love it
Yay! I’m so glad it is helpful!!! 😃😂😃
Yes, I’m the mistress of Pemberley East in my neck of the woods. Definitely grooving on the notion of a greenhouse (aka glass house, as I think they were called back then in England).
@@rosezingleman5007 'Orangery' probably, in a demense the size of Pemberly
This was the smoothest transition from actual topic of the video to sponsor presentation that I've ever seen on TH-cam 😂 Great video ! ☺️
Loved the video!!! Can we please have the version about Mr. Darcy's day? Pretty please? 🥺 Thanks for all the work you do for the channel, I love all the details we learn with you.
I can't believe it! I was literally thinking about it all week after rewatching Pride and Prejudice and now you post this video!! Thank you so much for reading my mind :D
Wow! That is so cool! 😃I was reading minds and didn’t even know it! 😂😂😂
For the first 1/3 of this video I was really concerned that Elizabeth wasn’t going to eat breakfast. The relief when 10 o’clock came! 😂
Same! 😂
Right?! 😅
i was waiting for hot chocolate in bed when the maid woke her up!
I love this insight into their daily lives! What about a wife of a Clergyman like Eleonor Dashwood or Charlotte 😅 And more of a middle ground, like Marianne Dashwood who married Coronel Brandon? Uh! A day in the life of the Bennet Sister's mother has to be a wild ride
I agree! I would be very interested in the daily lives of all the characters you mentioned.
I can see Elizabeth writing a letter that takes three days to arrive: "Dear Miss Dashwood, I wish to express my enjoyment of your moving artwork and speech and profess I am very fond of it. Your dearest friend, Mrs E Darcy"
16:45 Not Elizabeth Bennet Darcy turning into her mother. Bless her soul.
It unfortunately happens to the best of women. 😂
@@EllieDashwoodI don't think it's true
I love how passionate you are about the linen 😆
I had to cut out even more fascinating linen information! 😂😂😂
This gave me "he understands muslin!" vibes
I have linen sheets.I understand the love!
@@EllieDashwood However, in order to truly appreciate sleeping on the best "linens", they really do need to be ironed, especially the pillow cases. Also, a steam iron will not do the job properly and you will need to sprinkle first, wrap the item up tightly and store them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight (crisper drawers are ideal for this if they're not already full of veg) and then ironed with a dry iron on a high setting. You will not believe the difference in the feel. It's almost like a different fabric again.
@@joannshupe9333 Wow, thank you for the idea! I never iron any bedsheets, or pillow cases, but if I ever do, I will now know, how!
Great video, I love these books or videos about day to day life. I think linen could be made from other plants but flax was best. I love that the Darcys were good to their servants - believe it or not my Grannie was a Lady's Maid (she must have been one of the last) and I think she liked her employers too, they seem to have been quite kind to her. They travelled a lot, and of course she went with her 'mistress' so she visited lots of amazing places and sailed on the Queen Mary.
Linen is made from flax. Another name for flaxseed is 'linseed. That's like saying wool can be made from other fibres, like cotton.
Btw for those that don’t know, consumption is basically tuberculosis. But people at the time didn’t know too much about it yet.
For the noonday meal - Sense & Sensibility refers to a nuncheon (in the notes, defined as the amount of food you could put on the palm of your hand), and in Mansfield Park they talk about "the sandwich tray".
I wonder if that is because the midday meal was often the main meal for lower classes and emphasised by the industrial revolution.
@@JB-vd8bi There is a lovely series by the late Clarissa Dickson Wright. I have found it on TH-cam, and it goes through the history of when "Lunch" became a thing, and all the mystery about it. She also explains how meals were moving about, why they moved as they did, and how lunch became a *Thing*. There are etiquette books as well that examine the difference between "Lunch" (midday meal) VS "Luncheon" (Social event) that explain why meals have all these different names.
It would be interesting if you did another one about what an unmarried woman would be doing all day. Her schedule probably wouldn't be too different but I'd like to know what she'd be doing while her married counterpart is running her estate and raising her children.
Well we do get a look into Lizzie's life as an unmarried woman during the book! She reads, does needlework, practises piano and walks to Merryton a lot. Since she is not mistress of a house (Mrs Bennet is the mistress of Longbourn), I'd imagine she has more free time.
Often, she would making long visits to relatives and/or family friends and helping with their children (a la the Miss Steeles, who pay for their board by entertaining the kids in the house), or providing companionship to the lady of the house (a la Fanny Price). And helping make clothes for her brothers (a la Fanny Price and Catherine Morland).
Unmarried women did a lot but the books aren’t focused on daily chores (like modern rom coms aren’t) so it’s easy to think they didn’t do much. But unmarried life was less certain and you didn’t have the social standing so there are differences.
Loved this detailed account of a day in a Regency Gentlewoman. My issue of Pride & Prejudice has some of this information explained in the appendices, but it's great to hear it presented by you :) My book also explained that the more fashionable and wealthy the family the later they ate dinner: the Bennets at 16h and the Bingleys at 18:30h, so maybe the Darcys would eat a bit later as well?
I think they would dine later in London, keeping up with the busier social life, but in the countryside, where they would have to get up relatively early to run the state and household, they would dine early. The Bingleys didn't have much to do with their days, so they could keep to London hours.
I read somewhere that the hour of ‘dinner’ wasn’t set at this time, and in fashionable households was gradually getting later, so transitioning from afternoon to evening.
So many dresses! House dresses, day dresses, dinner dresses and ball gowns. What would an upper class wardrobe look like? How many of each? What were the relative traits of each sort of dress that made them suitable for one situation but not another?
That’s a really good question and would like to know the answer as well!
I don't have a terrifically in-depth analysis--mid- to late Victorian is more my area of study!--but I can help a little! It's important to note that some of the fabrics they used back then are different now or have ceased to exist altogether. House dresses were much more comfortable and easy (think soft, clingy muslin!). With day dresses, muslin, printed cotton, and wool are likely, depending on the season and the financial position of the wearer (some women could afford to wear silk during the day!). They would have that particular deep neckline we associate with Regency gowns, but would most often have a fichu or kerchief tucked into the bodice for modesty, or would be worn with a spencer (short jacket). The fabrics themselves often had patterns woven in and weren't just plain cloth. For dinners and evenings, the low neckline was considered appropriate, and gowns would have been made from things like silk, satin, and velvet, I believe. Accessorizing was also a HUGE part of how you would dress appropriately--your bonnets, your hair ornaments, your jewelry, your gloves, etc etc.
Which is a shame, since hygiene back them was atrocious. They only took a handful of baths a month. And that's the wealthy. 🤭
@@akapam57 Oh, man, but no though! They weren't disgusting. They were pretty fastidious. They may not have taken complete baths or showers like we do, but you'd wash up in the morning every day! I think most people think that just means "their face," but nah. It was all your bits and bobs.
@@clarerichardson8770 "bits and bobs" 😅
This was so much fun, Ellie! Please bring us additional days and adventures at Pemberly.
I always laugh out loud when you slip in your "like this video" plug :). Fascinating video! And I love the "chapters" on the side.
😂 Aw! Thank you!!!!
I'm certain that I don't want to wake up feeling like the mistress of Pemberley...but...the guy-thing equivalent...THAT could be good. I will share this with my wife...once I meet and woo and marry her. Perhaps if I buy the sheets it will work in my favor? I can mention it on my dating profile (if I had one): KNOWS the importance of quality sheets. AND I know a person with a promo code. I have connections.
Don't forget about the muslin! You need to understand muslin to woo a milady.
@@Hiraeth_Nightshade Sorry it took so long to reply! Getting some little odds and ends done. (It's Saturday; ) Hiraeth...Welsh? Is it not? Ummm...Nostalgic...right? And nightshades grow everywhere, if I am not mistaken. Oh! And are beneficial health-wise! So! Cool username! Thus, I will gladly take advice from someone who is clever enough to come up with that nom de plume. Off to understand muslin! And...thank-you! (If this works, I will credit you! = )
Greetings, Classics Lover. I am a single woman of gentle birth and breeding, with a good education, and many accomplishments. Oddly enough, I also know a person with a promo code for excellent linens. Perhaps we should meet, in a proper setting, of course, and compare notes on our mutual connections.
@@Hiraeth_Nightshade Ah, yes! If you're going to woo Mrs. Allen, you simply MUST know muslin. She'll know then that she can trust you! A man who knows his muslin is always trustworthy.
Of course, in order to woo Mrs. Allen, you'll have to wait for Mr. Allen to pop off, but you could always use your influence with her to help you woo a younger, and more importantly, single, young lady, instead.
@@AuntLoopy123 Greetings, Michelle! I am a single man of some accomplishment with a good education...but, much like Pooh Bear, "My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling, but it Wobbles, and letters get in the wrong places. " Although...that could also be attributed to my typing skills. I mention all of this because yes, I would be very pleased to meet with you in a proper setting, as I find you intriguing. And I am very fond of note comparisons. I simply forewarn you of the "Wobbles" as a kind courtesy. Do you have a preferred proper stetting in mind? I have an email attached to this username, of course, but I can also perhaps...dust off Twitter? I can supply contact information for either. Or you may have another preference. Direct me as you will, as I am at your service!
Thank you Ellie! So, being the mistress of Pemberley isn't an easy task after all. Waking up very early and having all these duties to fulfil within the day. It seems Elizabeth wouldn't be spending so much time with Mr. Darcy. No romantic walks with him in the Pemberley grounds? No spending every night together? That's not how I imagined their married life. 😅😋 Anyway, thanks for a great video. It was one of the best you've done!
Aw! Thank you so much for watching! Maybe when the guests go home they can spend a morning walking the grounds together. 💕😍😂
Ellie was spot on by limiting Darcy's and Elizabeth's children. I've always thought that Darcy was aware of the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth in the Regency period, and how hard it would be on the health of his wife if she went through multiple pregnancies. Darcy would be solicitous of Elizabeth's health and limit the number of children they had, just as his father did with his mother. Of course, birth control for the upper classes would mean separate bedrooms. It's not how we see a healthy marriage in the 21st century, but it would be so back then.
@@missanne2908 All upper-class people had separate bedrooms for husband and wife. It was very unusual for upper-class couples to share the same bedroom. For one thing, the gentleman had his valet or gentleman's man to dress him, as the lady had her lady's maid. That made it inconvenient (pretty much impossible) to share a dressing area near or in the same bedroom.
@@missanne2908 more healthy than sharing a bedroom all the time. Where’s the allure of that? Both husbands and wives need a bit of time to themselves, and then spending the night together is a positive choice, not a nightly duty.
@@Happyheretic2308 I once saw a study years ago that found when women share their bed they get a poorer quality of sleep, so it is indeed literally healthier.
I’d love to see more like this! Even a continuation of this one. Thank you so much!
Agreed!
I hope you’re going to do a day in the life of little Anne and William Darcy! I know they can’t have been in the schoolroom this whole time!
I never knew that information about the linens! It still blows my mind that these families didn’t have any meals throughout the day with their kids.
I like how in the Bridgerton novels (and the show), they eat together as a family. In the books, it is pointed out how VERY ODD it is that they do so. SO unusual.
I have my issues with the Bridgerton books, but I did rather like that part very much. It shows, in just one simple way, that the Bridgerton family were unusual, in a good way, and why they have such strong familial bonds: Because the parents ENFORCED familial bonds in a way most other families of the time simply did not.
Of course, it's possible that they doubled their "Children's Hour" with one of their meals. Still, it was an unusual thing for people of their class, and with all the other inaccuracies in the books (and even more in the show - Queen Charlotte *sidling* into a ballroom, with her entourage, but not bringing everything to a halt, and people continue about their business as the walks in? At a BALL?! Excuse me, what?! It may have been her dream to do so, but it would never have been allowed. Also, when the reigning royal arrived, it didn't matter what time it was, nobody was allowed to enter after them. Which meant that, to be considerate of the other guests, the royals arrived late), I DO like how they made the "inaccuracy" of eating together as a family into an actual recognition of the eccentricity of the family in general, and the parents, in particular.
I mean I am from a modern family (clearly) and we didn’t eat together for more than couple of times a week. Different schedules and ideas when it’s good to eat and me and dad wanting to read while eating. Doesn’t mean we aren’t close. Now we did eat together when me and my brother we very small of course because youngest would need help. Kids in this scenario are 7-9 however.
At what age do the kids start sharing meals with their parents? Or do they ever?
@@jaimewallace6332 Adulthood.
@@cmm5542 At what age is one considered an adult?
this linen sponsorship was ~~perfection~~ talk about integrated sponsorship while also learning something. (Also I do need new sheets…)
I absolutely love Brooklinen sheets. (Though, have to wash them a number of times to reach perfection.) Their cotton sheets are so soft and I love that unlike pretty much every luxury sheet maker, they have colors besides white, tan, gray, and pale blue. 🥰
Our hostess' knowledge of all this stuff is incredible.
Amazing video! Seems like being the mistress of a great house meant being a hybrid hotel manager/party planner/head of a non-profit. Seems exhausting
I believe, "Consumption" was later identified as Tuberculosis (TB) since the infected person wastes away or is consumed by the illness. Since TB is spread through the air or direct contact from an infected individual Elizabeth and Ann would be at great risk of contracting the TB bacteria and becoming infected. The more proximity contacts you have, visits, with an infected person the more likely it is that you will contract the disease, though one contact could prove fatal.
Excellent video on the whole! One tiny caveat: for breakfast there might have been jam, but not 'jelly', which at the time would have been an gelatin-based aspic served at the evening meal OR something provided for an invalid.
My Dear Miss Dashwoowd, Your historical perspective videos are excellent! I would very much appreciate a video focusing on practical economics of the time. For example, how much would Miss Elizabeth Bennett's father pay Hill verses how much his wife would budget for a family dinner? When Mr. Beeeengley purchases his estate, what kind of bang would he get for his pound sterling? Best wishes and keep up your great work.
Seconded! It's the little details that really bring something alive! Also, all the budding authors who want to GET IT RIGHT need to know!
Which just reminded me of that letter Jane Austen wrote to her niece, saying such things as, "No, that person would not be introduced to this other person. It's the other way around." and other such stuff. Little details that the younger person did not quite know, because she was writing about people in the same class, but in a higher circle, and thus did not know the details of that circle, which Jane Austen did.
Excellent! Only one thing that I would switch up ~ in my humble opinion (and my dramatic imaginings of a P & P Part Two) the Darcy's firstborn son would bear the first name 'Bennet'. Everything else is spot on, loved it!
I had such bad anxiety today, this video felt so peaceful🌈 thank you
Also please do more videos like this, maybe a weekend?
well being a soldier, Wickham was killed in combat. Darcy and Bingley tracked Lydia down brought her to Pemberley and locked her up in a dungeon under the castle so she could not cause further trouble. So one of Lizzie's duties would be to go feed Lydia some bread and leftover wine every now and then.
Lizzie is not heartless to make her sister into a woman in the attic
Didn`t he leave the Militia (which was a reserve force, not the regular army)?
But maybe not, perhaps some of the money he got after the elopement was used to buy a commission in the regulars which is "the position" Darcy acquires for him, it would be a good way to never have to see him again.
I kind of have visions of Wickham and Lydia colliding with George Osborne, Becky Sharp, and some of the other Vanity Fair characters at the Dutchess of Ritchmond`s Ball just before Waterloo and maybe getting into a situation with Colonel Richard Sharpe outside! I can totally see Osborne and Wickham getting involved in a drunken card game and Wickham making advances towards Becky!
the times are soooo cunfusing for me! where is the 5PM teatime? so different from what we are used to see in movies! thanks for this, Ellie, the little things in the life of people 200 years ago are a mistery. I would very much like to learn more on what they eat in the upper class, for example, what was a normal family menu and what changed if they had guests...
I second this request!
Ok, I’ve been watching and watching Brooklinen ads from various TH-camrs knowing that I do indeed need new sheets but whose code should I use?? And you come along to teach me something I did not know about historical linens and I must declare you the winner of my Brooklinen purchase code. Thanks for the video and I’m excited to try my new sheets soon!
This is one of the most exquisitely researched and engaging videos I've ever seen. Bravo, honestly.
Farm usually were up before dawn. They always ate something at that time. After initial chores were done they had a ‘proper’ breakfast meal.
Now I really want to watch a series about life at Pemberly.
There’s an actual TH-cam Channel called ‘The Mistress of Pemberley’ which curates a lot of Jane Austen Movie Adaptations.
It’s a great channel!!!
Oooh! Thank you, I’ll go check it out 👀
You've inspired me to plan to write a fictional adaptation of life in the colonial ruling class of the Netherlands Indies, based on my dissertation work, and family archives..it's so interesting to see how the practices of European aristocracies were amalgamated with local customs, creating a tension-prone, and in many ways highly dramatic, mode of life among the 'native' and Chinese aristocracies...I do historical sociology, mostly focusing on the macro/systems level of analysis, but as I read more into the novels, memoirs etc. of the late colonial period, I realize there is perhaps, an untapped world of personal drama, behind the impersonal forces of development, I've studied thus far. If my research is basically a critique of eurocentrism, then my fiction can perhaps help to bring attention to the forgotten world of the Indies, by displaying the 'human interest' aspects of the very processes I've already theorized in my academic work..and perhaps I might paint my father's world, a world in which the aristocratic way of life was becoming generalized for the first time, in a different, more social and less narrowly monetary, light than it's thus far been seen. The Chinese aristocracy, was an aristocracy; bureaucratized and mercantile, but blue blooded nonetheless, and today, all this is barely remembered, by sino-indonesians who see themselves as businesspeople, without a tradition of noble virtues, and who are famed amongst the people, only for their business accumen...the 'crazy rich asians' image is super problematic and has to be challenged, because it is the basis of fascistic pogroms against supposedly money-grubbing Chinese minorities in southeast asia
Great video! Would love to see a video of how/if you think Elizabeth might've struggled with this routine/ lifestyle when they first got married!
You research these topics so well, your videos are a pleasure to watch. Thank you. ❤🙏🏼
7:12 and linen gets more and more buttery soft after each washing
Elizabeth would probably have been served tea in bed. Then a bath which had been drawn and heated at the last min. with a hot bucket of water. Dressed by he maid and down to breakfast in the morning room.
She may have looked in on her children for a few min. but this would be rare as she wouldn't want to interrupt there studies. She would ask if the house was ready for guest but would not inspect anything. That's the butler and housekeeper job. She would not inquire about the ingredients for the meals. If something was not right she would expect the staff to inform her and she would take make decisions.
At this point after the morning meal she would probably go for a short walk. On return she would retire to her study and do the correspondents. Meet with the housekeeper to set the menu's for the week. There would be letters to family and friends, check the household accounts and answer any letters required. Order any household supplies, wine, spices. On occasion travel to the local town to shop.
She would have lunch with her sister-in-law, sometimes with Darcey, but rarely. After lunch they would practice their instruments, learn new songs. At around 3:30 the children would have finished their studies. In good weather they would probably all go outside, in bad they would be in the family room with books, board games and music. Afternoon tea would be served.
At 5:30 the children would leave for their dinner and Elizabeth and here sister-in-law would retire to there rooms to wash and dress for dinner.
Dinner was at 7:30 - 8:00.
At 9:00 after dinner they would retire to the sitting room and wait for the men to attend them. At 11:00 it was upstairs to bed.
Some large estates had both an estate agent to manage the farms and a house agent to do everything a large house required so neither the man or woman needed to do anything except theater and dinner parties.
Just here to say that I've been obsessed with Jane Austen since 2005 and FELL INLOVE with your content! There is also something about you! Your features are very aligned with 19th-century women to my belief! So beautiful! Would be AWESOME to see you in a gown!!!
Linen is durable, naturally antibacterial and doesn't smell bad as quickly as cotton. It would also have been relatively recent since cotton was actually legal to import from India
On the note of the sick servant, regardless of their wealth, Elizabeth is still going to call for the apothecary, not the doctor. They would, at a pinch, probably call for the doctor for the housekeeper or butler, but they really wouldn't rate him for a footman. Also the doctor would be offended by this.
With Elizabeth's father, she would have been a dab hand at accounting. She's also the most intelligent woman in her family, which is one of the reasons Darcy is attracted to her. There's absolutely no way she would not have been fully able to balance her own books. If nothing else, with her social status she would have been brought up to run her own establishment, no matter how humble
You have narrated this so well! I could literally see what you were describing in my mind. I loved it. Thank you for another wonderful video! Also, it’s my sisters birthday soon so I will purchase her a pack of brooklinen! She will love it as she is also into the regency era. Thankyou Ellie! Xxx
So interesting, thanks, Ellie! I actually wondered about this topic🤩❤️
Aw! Yay! Thanks so much for watching!!!
Can you do a video on Sense and Sensibility on the topic of how it is Marianne and Willoughby spend so much time alone together?
right? that always struck me as odd that they did that
Part of it was them flagrantly disregarding social propriety, for sure!
@@clarerichardson8770 I thought of that but shouldn't Mrs. Dashwood have done a bit more to regulate that?
Just found you and am so delighted I have! You and your videos are absolutely charming!
Aw! That’s so sweet!!!! I’m so glad you found our community! Welcome to the channel 😃😃😃
Hollywood definitely needs to produce a movie of this! Maybe you could write the screenplay?
Being an introvert as the mistress of a big house (with a sense of responsibility) must have been painful 😅
I like how different your video topics are from others
The linnen talk was fascinating 🥰
I need a P&P sequel written by Ellie Dashwood NOW
I'd be interested in this from Mr. Darcy's perspective as well. Servants too.
When the lady's maid came to awaken Elizabeth, she would have brought a tea tray with her. Elizabeth would have had either a light repast on the tea tray, or she would have had breakfast before taking on the day. She also would have spent time in the "morning room" dealing with her correspondence before leaving the house.
oh my goodness, I never realized how similar a mistress of an estate is to being a sahm for kids of the same age as hers and older haha. I just don't have maids or change my clothes several times a day but it's just as busy for sure, various things to check and keep track of. I would have thought she'd be more relaxed but it makes sense she's so busy, even without guests arriving. I don't feel so bad now haha.
I really learnt a lot from this video and I appreciate it a lot. I actually watched it yesterday while my hands were busy/dirty. But kept it in my mind in order to come back and give it a like. That's how much I appreciate it. Please make more of these 😀
How is this girl this adorable? So happy you tyube recomended this.
That‘s what we’re here for 😍 Best video by now! Please do another day in Elizabeth‘s life soon!
Great video as always Ellie! I think being the mistress of Pemberley or really any other mansion requires social skills I would never possess to such an extent...the mere thought of dealing with guests pretty much every day is really exausting🤣😱
It's even worse when you realize that having guests was considered your duty when you owned an estate like that! If you were rich enough to own such a grand house, it was also your responsibility to fill it up. And guests often stayed for as long as they liked, regardless of whether they were "good" guests or not--you couldn't just ask someone to leave! (A great example of this is an essay I read about Samuel Taylor Coleridge, where I learned that his friendship with William Wordsworth became contentious because Coleridge was such a rotten houseguest).
Of course my idea of A Day in the Life of Elizabeth Darcy differs from yours. We all have our own. I am inclined to have her spend less time with Mrs. Reynolds. As Emma says, “But every thing of that kind will soon be in so regular a train-” I would have her spend more time with her children. You left out the traditional exhibition of the children to the visitors when dessert is being served. I've read of it so often in novels written only a few years later that it is likely it was done earlier in the century.
This was a fun day to imagine! TY :-) Yes, my imaginary day would be different as well-one of the advantages of being married was breakfast in bed!
Enjoyed this so much, I would absolutely read your sequel. And smooth transition into the sponsor ;P
I truly hope you get opportunity to read this.
What an amazing lady you are. Your enthusiasm and dedication to your passion is wonderful to share with you. Thank you for your hard work it is much appreciated.
💝
Thank you for doing these videos! I absolutely love learning the history!! I find it so fascinating and it makes regency novels more fun when I understand the culture and etiquette. So thank you!
Video Suggestion: I would love to see more videos on the servants. I have been recently interested in learning more about footmen and what their lives were like. What they did daily, when they accompanied the ladies for shopping, etc. I have heard their looks and height were really important, haha.
I would also love to learn more about the valet, butler, and ladies maid. But really any and all servants - inside the house and on the grounds. What were their daily lives like? Did they ever get time off? Get to visit family? How old were they when they started working? How did those maid training schools work? Are there footmen schools? How did promotions work? Did younger workers get opportunities to learn to read and write so they could become housekeepers, valets, etc? Was moving households common? Any knowledge you have to offer would be wonderful! Thank you!
Such a hard life! Loved this video
To be honest i would like another vid on this topic
This was such a fun video! I loved it 👏🏽
Great video! If you ever write a sequel to P&P, I would buy it!
I think that Mrs. Darcy would seek additional servants from the surrounding community. The estate has old connections with local families that have supplied it with both permanent and temporary help for generations. She might seek a special tutor from London, but not a footman.
It may be possible they've hired all available footmen in the region. Some men would have been expected to "take on the family farm" and the like, which may have limited the pool to begin with. Since household workers may have stuck around for quite a while, it may have been steady, but they would have been expected to be at the house. If they wanted to marry and do something else, unless they married within their workplace (which could be quite dicey depending on where you worked, whom for, and the general issues with marrying coworkers) they may not have had a chance at a family during their tenure. Seeking someone from London may have been a way to bring in someone without stressing the local population, and if the workload was a temporary situation they may find much easier someone from a city who would work on a temporary basis who would have had training and experience. If they would have come in permanently, it again may have been someone who was already willing to accept the conditions that such employment would entail.
18:29 Literally just as you announced 6 pm I heard the bell and it was 6 pm where I live
I loved your commentary in linen. I never knew about any of that. Your love of luxurious sheets means you’re a grown up now. Lol when you take your own pillow case on vacation with you and know all the names of your plants In the yard, you’re officially a grown up. Lol
Another wonderful video! Thanks! By the way, a teeny tiny correction: on the clock, the hour hand should move when the minute hour hand moves.
Have you done any videos on the hierarchy of servants, their rolls, pay scale & how they get the job?
This is so good! I literally just finished listening to P&P and was thinking about this! Awesome video Ellie! ☺️
The thing that surprises me about the example schedule is Elizabeth waking up so early. I know ladies were up late most nights and I was under the impression they slept in most mornings.
I’ve often read that this was usually done when they were “in town” and I’ve seen this referred to as “keeping town hours”. I believe it was the custom in the countryside to rise early because of all the things they had to do and people in town just didn’t have people or land to go and visit. If anyone has any more info, I’d love to hear it!
I love the collection of illustrations in the videos. I’m here for the iconic hairstyles!
Nice crash course on the history of Lennon and fancy houses
I needed that video sooo much ( ToG fanfic in victorian times)
Yay!!! I’m so glad it’s helping! 😃😃😃
I have seen some transitiions, since that became a thing, and only the truest TH-cam artist and scholar could work in a lesson on 19th-century household practices so smoothly into an ad for the sponsor!
Love this video! Thanks for doing all the research! It would be cool to see videos about a day in the life of Jane’s other heroines.
This is a very cool breakdown.
Hi Ellie loved every one of ur videos but loved this one best! More of the kind pls :) thanks!